Hydrolytically-stable hydrophilic coatings for PEMFC bipolar plate

ABSTRACT

Bipolar plates useful for fuel cell applications include a plate body having a channel-defining surface that is at least partially coated with a hydrophilic layer. This hydrophilic layer comprises residues of a silane-coupling agent in a sufficient amount such portions of the first hydrophilic layer have a contact angle less than a predetermined value.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is related to bipolar plates with improvedhydrophilicity for fuel cell applications.

2. Background Art

Fuel cells are used as an electrical power source in many applications.In particular, fuel cells are proposed for use in automobiles to replaceinternal combustion engines. A commonly used fuel cell design uses asolid polymer electrolyte (“SPE”) membrane or proton exchange membrane(“PEM”), to provide ion transport between the anode and cathode.

In proton exchange membrane type fuel cells, hydrogen is supplied to theanode as fuel and oxygen is supplied to the cathode as the oxidant. Theoxygen can either be in pure form (O2) or air (a mixture of O2 and N2).PEM fuel cells typically have a membrane electrode assembly (“MEA”) inwhich a solid polymer membrane has an anode catalyst on one face, and acathode catalyst on the opposite face. The anode and cathode layers of atypical PEM fuel cell are formed of porous conductive materials, such aswoven graphite, graphitized sheets, or carbon paper to enable the fuelto disperse over the surface of the membrane facing the fuel supplyelectrode. Each electrode has finely divided catalyst particles (forexample, platinum particles), supported on carbon particles, to promoteoxidation of hydrogen at the anode and reduction of oxygen at thecathode. Protons flow from the anode through the ionically conductivepolymer membrane to the cathode where they combine with oxygen to formwater, which is discharged from the cell. The MEA is sandwiched betweena pair of porous gas diffusion layers (“GDL”), which in turn aresandwiched between a pair of non-porous, electrically conductiveelements or plates. The plates function as current collectors for theanode and the cathode, and contain appropriate channels and openingsformed therein for distributing the fuel cell's gaseous reactants overthe surface of respective anode and cathode catalysts. In order toproduce electricity efficiently, the polymer electrolyte membrane of aPEM fuel cell must be thin, chemically stable, proton transmissive,non-electrically conductive and gas impermeable. In typicalapplications, fuel cells are provided in arrays of many individual fuelcell stacks in order to provide high levels of electrical power.

The electrically conductive plates currently used in fuel cells providea number of opportunities for improving fuel cell performance. Forexample, it is desirable to minimize the agglomeration of water dropletswithin flow channels in the plates. To this end, fuel cells aretypically coated with a hydrophilic coating. Currently, hydrophyliclayers are applied to a conductive plate via a multilayer adhesionprocess. Typically, such processes require a 4 dip cycles in ahydrophilic coating such as NANOX™. Although such processes workreasonably well, multilayer adhesion methods are undesirably laborintensive often taking up to 40 minutes to complete.

Accordingly, there is a need for improved methodology for applyinghydrophilic coatings at the surfaces of bipolar plates used in fuel cellapplications.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention solves one or more problems of the prior art byproviding in at least one embodiment, bipolar plates that are useful infuel cell applications. The bipolar plates include a plate body havingchannel-defining surface that is at least partially coated with ahydrophilic layer. This hydrophilic layer comprises residues of asilane-coupling agent in a sufficient amount such that portions of thefirst hydrophilic layer have a contact angle less than a predeterminedvalue.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the bipolar platesinclude a second hydrophilic layer disposed over the first hydrophiliclayer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fuel cell incorporating the bipolarplates of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a variation of the bipolar platesof the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of another variation of the bipolarplates of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of still another variation of thebipolar plates of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of yet another variation of thebipolar plates of the invention;

FIGS. 6A and 6B provide a flowchart illustrating the preparation bipolarplates having a hydrophilic coating;

FIG. 7 is a bar chart showing the ability of the present invention toretain hydrophilicity as compared to alternative coating technologies.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

Reference will now be made in detail to presently preferredcompositions, embodiments and methods of the present invention, whichconstitute the best modes of practicing the invention presently known tothe inventors. The Figures are not necessarily to scale. However, it isto be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary ofthe invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms.Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpretedas limiting, but merely as a representative basis for any aspect of theinvention and/or as a representative basis for teaching one skilled inthe art to variously employ the present invention.

Except in the examples, or where otherwise expressly indicated, allnumerical quantities in this description indicating amounts of materialor conditions of reaction and/or use are to be understood as modified bythe word “about” in describing the broadest scope of the invention.Practice within the numerical limits stated is generally preferred.Also, unless expressly stated to the contrary: percent, “parts of,” andratio values are by weight; the term “polymer” includes “oligomer,”“copolymer,” “terpolymer,” and the like; the description of a group orclass of materials as suitable or preferred for a given purpose inconnection with the invention implies that mixtures of any two or moreof the members of the group or class are equally suitable or preferred;description of constituents in chemical terms refers to the constituentsat the time of addition to any combination specified in the description,and does not necessarily preclude chemical interactions among theconstituents of a mixture once mixed; the first definition of an acronymor other abbreviation applies to all subsequent uses herein of the sameabbreviation and applies mutatis mutandis to normal grammaticalvariations of the initially defined abbreviation; and, unless expresslystated to the contrary, measurement of a property is determined by thesame technique as previously or later referenced for the same property.

It is also to be understood that this invention is not limited to thespecific embodiments and methods described below, as specific componentsand/or conditions may, of course, vary. Furthermore, the terminologyused herein is used only for the purpose of describing particularembodiments of the present invention and is not intended to be limitingin any way.

It must also be noted that, as used in the specification and theappended claims, the singular form “a,” “an,” and “the” comprise pluralreferents unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example,reference to a component in the singular is intended to comprise aplurality of components.

Throughout this application, where publications are referenced, thedisclosures of these publications in their entireties are herebyincorporated by reference into this application to more fully describethe state of the art to which this invention pertains.

With reference to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a fuel cellincorporating the bipolar plates of the present embodiment is provided.PEM fuel cell 10 includes bipolar plates 12, 14. Within bipolar plate12, anode flow field 18 includes one or more channels 20 for introducinga first gas to the fuel cell 10. Similarly, bipolar plate 14 includescathode gas flow field 22, which includes one or more channels 24 forintroducing a second gas into fuel cell 10. Typically, the first gasincludes a fuel such as hydrogen while the second gas includes anoxidant such as oxygen. Anode diffusion layer 30 is positioned betweenanode flow field 18 and anode layer 32 while cathode diffusion layer 34is positioned between cathode flow field 22 and cathode layer 36.Polymeric ion conductive membrane 40 is interposed between anode layer32 and cathode layer 36.

With reference to FIG. 2, a schematic illustration of a variation of thebipolar plates of the invention is provided. Bipolar plate 12 includesplate body 50 having channel-defining surface 52. First hydrophiliclayer 54 is disposed over at least a portion of surface 54 of plate body50. First layer 54 comprises residues of a silane-coupling agent. In arefinement of the present embodiment, the residues of a silane-couplingagent are in a sufficient amount such that portions of channel-definingsurface 52 coated with first layer 54 have a contact angle less than apredetermined value (when uncoated). In another refinement, the contactangle is less than about 60 degrees. In yet another refinement, thecontact angle is less than about 30 degrees. In still anotherrefinement, the contact angle is less than about 15 degrees.

Still referring to FIG. 2, channel-defining surface 52 defines fluidflow channels 20 configured to distribute flow of a fluid across atleast one side of the plate 12. As such, in a variation of the presentembodiment at least a portion of first layer 54 is not coated with anyaddition layers. In particular, these uncoated regions areadvantageously located within flow channels 20 in order to preventagglomeration of water in the flow channels.

In another variation of the present embodiment as depicted in FIG. 3,bipolar plate 12 further comprises second layer 60 disposed over firstlayer 54. In this variation, surfaces coated with second hydrophiliclayer 60 have a contact angle less than about 15 degrees (when notcoated with additional layers). In this variation, at least a portion ofsecond layer 60 is not coated with any addition layers. In particular,these uncoated regions are advantageously located within flow channels20 in order to prevent agglomeration of water in the flow channels. Eachof the variations depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3 include first layer 54. In arefinement of the present variation, second layer 60 includes residuesof a colloidal silica. Suitable materials for the colloidal silica ofsecond layer 60 include the NANOX™ line commercially available fromNano-X, Gmbh located in Saarbruecken, Germany.

With reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, additional variations of the presentembodiment are provided. In each of these variations, bipolar plate 12further includes conductive coating 62 disposed between bipolar plate 12and first hydrophilic layer 54.

In another refinement of these variations, the silane coupling agent hasformula I:Q¹-Q²-Si(R¹)₃  Iwherein:

-   R¹ is a chemical moiety that can be hydrolyzed and polymerized using    sol-gel chemistry. In a refinement, R¹ is an alkoxy or halogen. In    another refinement, R¹ is a C1-6 alkoxy or chlorine.-   Q¹ is a moiety having one or more atoms that hydrogen bond or have    energetically favorable interactions with water such that a surface    treated with the coupling agent is hydrophilic with a contact angle    within the ranges cited herein; and-   Q² is a hydrocarbon-containing moiety providing a spatial separation    between Q¹ and the Si(R¹)₃ group. In one refinement, Q² includes    alkanes, aromatic rings, amines, ethers, and polymers. Optionally,    Q² is further substituted with additional reactive Si groups or with    non-reactive chemical moieties.

In another variation of the present invention, the silane coupling agenthas formula II:(R¹)₃SiQ²Si(R¹)₃  IIwherein:

R¹ is a chemical moiety that can be hydrolyzed and polymerized usingsol-gel chemistry. In a refinement, R¹ is an alkoxy or halogen. Inanother refinement, R¹ is a C₁₋₆ alkoxy or chlorine; and

Q² is a hydrocarbon-containing moiety providing a spatial separationbetween Q¹ and the Si(R¹)₃ group. In one refinement, Q² includesalkanes, aromatic rings, amines, ethers, and polymers. Optionally, Q² isfurther substituted with additional reactive Si groups or withnon-reactive chemical moieties. Typically, Q² is linked to the siliconcenters through C—Si or O—Si bonding.

In another variation of the present invention, the silane coupling agentis selected from the group of compounds having formulae III-VII:

wherein:

-   R¹ is the same as set forth above;-   X is a halogen. In a particularly useful refinement, X is Cl;-   m, n, and o are each independently an integer from 0 to 10. In a    refinement, m, n, and o are each independently an integer from 0    to 5. In still another embodiment, m, n, and o are each    independently an integer from 0 to 3.

Examples of useful silane coupling agents that have additionalfunctional groups in the linker Q¹ are provided in formulae VIII-XI:

In still another variation of the present invention, the silane couplingagent Is described by formula XII:

wherein:

R¹ is the same as set forth above; and

n is integer from 0 to 10.

With reference to FIG. 6, a method of forming the bipolar platedescribed above is provided. Plate body 50 includes channel-definingsurface 52, which defines channels 20. In step a), plate body 50 iscontacted with a silane coupling agent and then cured to formunactivated first layer 54 on plate body 50. In a variation of thepresent embodiment, first layer 54 is then contacted with an acidcomposition to form activated first coating 54′ is step b). Although thepresent invention is not dependent upon any particular mechanism, it isbelieved that in this activation step condensed and hydrophobic siloxanegroups at the exposed surface of first coating 54 surface are hydrolyzedto hydrophilic silanol groups. In another variation of the presentembodiment, the structure depicted in FIG. 3 or 5 is formed by coatingactivated first coating 54 with second layer 60 as set forth in step c).In this variation, the activation of step b) when performed, is believedto assist in producing a durable covalent bond between the silanolgroups on the first layer and silanol groups in the second layer. Inthis second variation, second layer 60 is a hydrophilic layer whenincorporated into a fuel cell.

The following examples illustrate the various embodiments of the presentinvention. Those skilled in the art will recognize many variations thatare within the spirit of the present invention and scope of the claims.

-   1. Large plate fuel cell testing

BTSE is dip coated onto large Au-coated stainless steel plates at adipping speed of 12 in/min. Based on ellipsometer measurements, the BTSEfilm is less than 50 nm thereby ensuring a negligible increase inelectrical contact resistance (“CR”) between the BTSE coating on theplate lands and the gas diffusion layer (“GDL”) in the test fuel cells.The CR resistance was 10 to 12 mohm m² (GDL-to-GDL, 200 psi, GDL=TorayTGP-H-1.0T). This value is substantially identical to that for Aucoating only. The BTSE coating is cured/condensed at 100° C. for 10minutes at an initial static contact angle (CA) ranging from 50 to 70degrees. This contact angle is observed not to enable water imbibitioninto the flow channels.

The coating on the plates are activated in an acidified water bath(pH=2) for 12 hours in order to reduce its CA to 20 to 25 degrees and,in turn, enable channel imbibition. After activating the BTSE coating,the plates are dipped into a silica sol bath at room temperature andcoated with colloidal silica (xtec 3408 from Nano-X GmbH). The Nano-X isthen dried at room temperature for 30 minutes. The plates were insertedinto a fuel cell stack for durability testing. The plates at this pointhave CA<10 degrees. After 1000 hrs of fuel cell testing there issubstantially no loss in hydrophilicity.

-   2. Long term hydrophilicity testing

Au is electroplated onto both sides of stainless steel (316L) coupons toa thickness of 20 to 25 nm. The Au-coated stainless steel coupons arewiped with isopropyl alcohol (IPA), soaked in an alkaline bath (simplegreen) for 5 minutes, and rinsed with deionized (DI) water. BTSE isspin-coated (4000 rpm) to a thickness of 30 nm on one side of theAu-coated coupons. The coating is cured at 100° C. for 4 hours andactivated at room temperature in water (pH 3) for 3 days. Onceactivated, the CA is reduced from 60 to 21 degrees.

The activated BTSE/Au/stainless steel coupons are dipped into Nano-X atroom temperature and dried for 30 minutes in air to give NANOX™/BTSE/Aufilms on one side of the coupon and NANOX™/Au films on the other.

Au-coated stainless steel coupons are also coated with NANOX™using thelayer-by-layer adsorption (LBL) or multilayer adsorption (MLA) processas described in patent application # GP308003. Cytec Superfloc C-442(cationic polyacrylamide, 0.35 g/li in 0.05 M sulfuric acid) and NANOX™diluted to 10% volume in 50/50 DI water/ethanol are used. A 4-dip and an8-dip process are used to prepare samples with different thicknesses ofsilica. A 1-dip process entails coupon immersion in the polymer bath for3 minutes, followed by DI water rinsing for 2 minutes, immersion in theNanoX bath for 3 minutes, and rinsing again with DI water.

All samples are soaked in DI water at 80° C. and evaluated forhydrophilicity retention. Samples are taken out of the water containersat the following times: 132 hours, 336 hours, 504 hours, 672 hours, 840hours, 1008 hours, 1176 hours, and 1269 hours, and their static contactangles are measured. The criterion for end of life (“EOL”) is when thestatic contact angle exceeds 10 degrees. The results of theseexperiments are set forth in FIG. 7 which EOL.

-   3. Preparation of BTSE working solution

A mixture of 6.0 ml ethanol, 0.72 ml water, 4.65 ml BTSE, and 0.125 ml0.5 M sulfuric acid is aged at room temperature for about 20 minutes toform a stock solution. This composition is then mixed with 12 ml 0.08%conc. sulfuric acid in ethanol for consistency and stabilization, and0.51 ml of the stock solution to form a working solution. The workingcomposition is then aged for an additional 20 minutes. The pH of thissolution is about 2.

While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described,it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe allpossible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in thespecification are words of description rather than limitation, and it isunderstood that various changes may be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed:
 1. An electrically conductive bipolar plate for incorporation into a fuel cell, the bipolar plate comprising: a plate body having a channel-defining surface; and an activated first layer disposed over at least a portion of the channel-defining surface of the plate body, the activated first layer comprising residues of a silane coupling agent in a sufficient amount such that portions of the channel-defining surface coated with the first activated layer have a contact angle less than a predetermined value, the activated first layer made by a method comprising: a) contacting the plate body with the silane coupling agent; b) curing the silane coupling agent to form an unactivated first layer on the plate body; and c) contacting the unactivated first layer with an acid composition to form the activated first layer wherein the silane coupling agent has formula I: Q²-Q¹-Si(R¹)₃  I wherein: R¹ is an alkoxy or a halogen; Q¹ is a hydrocarbon-containing moiety providing a spatial separation between Q¹ and the Si(R¹)₃ group; and Q² is a moiety having one or more atoms that hydrogen bond or have energetically favorable interactions with water.
 2. The bipolar plate of claim 1 wherein the activated first layer is a hydrophilic layer.
 3. The bipolar plate of claim 2 wherein the contact angle is less than about 60 degrees.
 4. The bipolar plate of claim 2 wherein the contact angle is less than about 30 degrees.
 5. The bipolar plate of claim 1 wherein the channel-defining surface defines a set of fluid flow channels configured to distribute flow of a fluid across at least one side of the plate body.
 6. The bipolar plate of claim 1 further comprising a second layer disposed over the activated first layer, the second layer being a hydrophilic layer.
 7. The bipolar plate of claim 6 wherein the surface coated with the second layer has a contact angle less than about 15 degrees.
 8. The bipolar plate of claim 1 wherein the activated first layer includes residues of a colloidal silica.
 9. The bipolar plate of claim 1 wherein the silane coupling agent has formula II: (R¹)₃SiQ²Si(R¹)₃  II.
 10. The bipolar plate of claim 9 wherein the silane coupling agent is bis-1,2-(triethoxysilyl)ethane (“BTSE”).
 11. The bipolar plate of claim 1 wherein the silane coupling agent has one or more of the following formulae:

wherein: X is a halogen; and m, n, and o are each independently an integer from 0 to
 10. 12. The bipolar plate of claim 1 wherein the silane coupling agent has one or more of the following formulae:


13. The bipolar plate of claim 1 wherein the silane coupling agent has the following formula:

wherein: R¹ is an alkoxy or a halogen; and n is integer from 0 to
 10. 14. The bipolar plate of claim 1 wherein a conductive coating is disposed between the bipolar plate and the activated first layer.
 15. A fuel cell comprising the bipolar plate of claim
 1. 16. An electrically conductive bipolar plate for incorporation into a fuel cell, the bipolar plate comprising: a metal plate body having a channel-defining surface; a first hydrophilic layer disposed over at least a portion of the channel-defining surface of the plate body, the first hydrophilic layer comprising residues of a silane coupling agent; and a second hydrophilic layer disposed over the first hydrophilic layer, wherein portions of the plate body covered by the first and second hydrophilic layers have a contact angle less than about 20 degrees wherein the silane coupling agent has formula I: Q²Q¹-Si(R¹)₃  I wherein: R¹ is an alkoxy or a halogen; Q¹ is a hydrocarbon-containing moiety providing a spatial separation between Q¹ and the Si(R¹)₃ group; and Q² is a moiety having one or more atoms that hydrogen bond or have energetically favorable interactions with water.
 17. The bipolar plate of claim 16 wherein the second hydrophilic layer includes moieties that hydrogen bond.
 18. The bipolar plate of claim 16 wherein the silane coupling agent has formula II: (R¹)₃SiQ²Si(R¹)₃  II.
 19. The bipolar plate of claim 18 wherein the silane coupling agent is bis-1,2-(triethoxysilyl)ethane (“BTSE”).
 20. An electrically conductive bipolar plate for incorporation into a fuel cell, the bipolar plate comprising: a plate body having a channel-defining surface; and an activated first layer disposed over at least a portion of the channel-defining surface of the plate body, the activated first layer comprising residues of a silane coupling agent such that portions of the channel-defining surface coated with the activated first layer have a contact angle less than a predetermined value, wherein the silane coupling agent has formulae III, IV, V, VI or VII: (R¹)₃Si—(CH₂)_(o)—Si(R¹)₃  III, X—(CH₂)_(o)—Si(OR¹)₃  IV,

wherein: R¹ is an alkoxy or a halogen; X is a halogen; and m, n, and o are each independently an integer from 0 to
 10. 